Keep Australia Beautiful Council report reveals more plastic litter but less fines being dished out

Plastic still makes up more than half of the material littered around WA, despite bags, cups and straws being banned. The West Australian can also reveal that the number of fines being handed out has fallen 15 per cent in the past two years. And only 48 per cent of investigations by the Keep Australia Beautiful Council resulted in enforcement action in 2024-25, compared to 84 per cent in 2022-23. Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the drop was not a result of any funding change. “There were 963 infringements issued in this reporting period,” he said. “Resourcing for litter infringements and investigations has remained consistent during that time.” The council’s latest annual report showed litter items per 1000sqm increased from 99.37 in 2023-24 to 119.72 items in the past financial year, still well within the target. The lower figure in 2023-24 was blamed on an anomaly. “The latest Keep Australia Beautiful Council report shows a sustained downward trend in litter, with both the number of items and volume of litter significantly below the May 2022 baseline,” Mr Swinbourn said. “Since 2022, litter volume has decreased by about 38 per cent and littered items have fallen by 31 per cent.” Keep Australia Beautiful Council chairwoman Elzabeth Carr warned that litter, especially plastic, remained a persistent problem. “The latest data shows plastic continues to be the highest material littered by count (58 per cent) and volume (31 per cent) in the State, much of which is likely to be food packaging,” she said. Ms Carr called for national action to influence “sustainable” packaging design. A 2024 audit by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Boomerang Alliance found supermarkets were fuelling the problem, by charging less for plastic-wrapped fruit and vegetables. A Woolworths spokesperson said the supermarket giant uses recycled content 52 per cent of the time. Coles promised to divert 85 per cent of solid waste from landfill but admitted in its 2025 sustainability report that a target of 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging was “off track” or “not achieved”. Greens MP Brad Pettit has called for WA to do more. “Western Australia was leading the way but is now in danger of being left behind, with South Australia recently implementing tougher new restrictions on single-use plastics,” he said. “The Greens will be asking questions when Parliament returns about the decline in litter enforcement last year.” The Cook Government said WA’s plan for plastics, including phasing-out plastic bags in 2018 and disposable coffee cups in 2024, has kept more than half-a-billion single-use plastic items out of landfill. Containers for Change has been credited for reducing the volume of beverage containers thrown out from 40 per cent to 5 per cent. A national roadmap was agreed by all States except Queensland in 2025, aiming to next phase out polystyrene food trays then “unnecessary” plastics such as pizza savers. “Action on litter is the responsibility of both the State and local governments, as well as all members of our community,” Mr Swinbourn said.